


(Don't Say) Goodbye to All That We Know

by InsomniacCoffee



Series: Kloktober 2020 [4]
Category: Metalocalypse (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: S02E19-20 Black Fire Upon Us, M/M, Majority is Charles' POV so no Project Falconback lore sorry folks, Minor Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:20:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26861305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsomniacCoffee/pseuds/InsomniacCoffee
Summary: Kloktober Prompt:Day 6-Role ReversalWhumptober PromptAlt 11-Presumed DeadAll it took was one move to undo almost everything the prophecy had built up for. The moment MMA shot the arrow through Pickles, it threw everyone's roles around. It could be Selatcia's doing or just the prophecy believing that they all need a little more time in preparing for what's to come. Either way, it's Pickles who has to take on Charles' role and Charles to take on Pickles' role until they figure out how to reverse what had happened.And unfortunately, they're not the only one with reversed roles.
Relationships: Charles Foster Offdensen/Pickles the Drummer, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Series: Kloktober 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947079
Kudos: 3
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	(Don't Say) Goodbye to All That We Know

**Author's Note:**

> This was an idea I very briefly mentioned in one of my other fics, had considered when the kloktober prompts came out, and finally decided to do it because the line 'Charles never understood the concept of grieving until recently' never left my mind at work so here it is-  
> No outlining or much planning with this chapter as I really need to get this out of the way but I will be taking my time in trying to figure out how this will work and hopefully get a detailed outline done soon! 
> 
> I was listening to [C.F Bundy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzZCKlsoLIk) by Matt Elliot while writing this. I feel like it really captures the absolute hopelessness for Charles.

The fire raged on through the night and the smoke was so thick Pickles was surprised he could even see and smell just enough to gather his surroundings. 

"You go that way and I'll go this way. If we don't find the others in a few minutes, we'll meet back here," Pickles told Skwisgaar. They had just managed to save the master recording and made sure it was locked in the vault to prevent anybody from stealing it. Their mission was a success and all they had to do was find everybody else and make sure they were okay.

"Okays. Sounds goods to me," Skwisgaar answered and he ran off with his guitar. 

Shit, he had nothing to defend himself with. Well, hopefully, that won't be needed. He quickly ran to the other direction to try and find the others. Luckily, no other enemies were coming to attack him and for a moment it was quiet. The only sound that he heard was the fires crackling against wood and metal. 

He looked around to try and find the others. There was a sound amongst the flames and crackles of melted metal that didn’t fit at all so he changed his objective to find the source of the noise instead. As he walked closer, the sound felt like a distant airplane or something flying by so naturally, he looked up. Klokateers up in the sky were fighting with Revengencers. Either way, bodies, and hoverboards fell to the ground from both sides as they tried to fight the other. Luckily, nothing even directly hit him so he was safe for the most part.

However, as he looked across the sky he did notice that something caught his eye. He saw Charles on the hoverboard being chased by some figure he didn't really recognize. He knew Charles was in danger and the fact that the man had raised some sort of gun at him confirmed it. Conveniently, a Revengencer just happened to fall a few inches near him. Taking her still in-tact gun, he frantically aimed it as close to the stranger as possible and pulled the trigger.

He missed by a long shot.

It was enough to catch the attention of both men to look at him. All that Metal Masked Assassin needed was one look at Charles, then at Pickles and he aimed the speargun at him before Charles could react.

Pickles couldn't see what was going on very well but he did see something aiming right towards him and he had no time to defend himself. He felt a jab across his chest and realized he had used the speargun on him. He had no time to react at all and fell to the ground almost immediately. The pain was so intense he almost didn’t feel it at all. 

The fire raged on and he felt footsteps approach him closer and closer. However, he didn't pay attention to that. He saw a guy in some army uniform confronting some tall, long white-haired dude who held up a hand and something glowed in their eyes. He did the same as well and realized the mistake he had done.

It felt like someone jabbed his heart and brain with an icicle and kicked it in deeper and deeper until he didn't feel anything. Every image, thought, and outcome that the man gave to the general was given to him as well. It was terrifying getting that vision as he realized just how little of the world he really knew and for some reason, everything made sense. He realized one thing though.

_I'm not the one who's supposed to be seeing this. Fuck._

He felt surprisingly cold for being close to a place that was on fire. Maybe that was how death was supposed to feel like. Cold and empty and...

Someone roughly picked him up by the collar. He looked up to see the face of the man in a metal mask. He was only given a few moments of eye contact with him before he was punched repeatedly in the face. His vision became less and less clear with each punch and the familiar metallic taste was in his mouth. 

"You were not part of my plan but I think you'll do just as well," A knife slowly cut into his skin and he could feel the blood trickle out of it so quickly. He didn't know where he was cut though as he felt nothing.

It was funny how meaningless the threat felt. All he could think about was what he saw earlier. His head was spinning by trying to make sense of everything and what he could do. He knew the masked man was just as important too, he just knew it. He couldn't speak to ask if he knew though and had a feeling he wouldn't get an answer even if he knew.

Suddenly he felt his body hit the ground and the masked man was thrown to the side, a few feet away from him. 

"That's my bread and butter you're fucking with," A familiar voice said and he knew who it was. For some reason, he felt something that he never felt before towards him. Guilt. But what did he feel guilty about? 

He couldn't see what was going on but felt Charles rip his shirt open to inspect the wound. It was near-fatal looking and the fact he didn't hide the near-fear in his voice made him realize that it must've really bad, "Pickles, can you hear me?" 

He still couldn't speak. He could feel nothing but the taste of blood and he was sure that would pour out of his mouth if he tried to speak. His eyes looked up at Charles' blurry figure. 

He wanted to say so much to him. About what he saw and what it could mean but something told him he couldn't quite yet. He had to wait as much as it killed him. Probably literally. And what he did want to say he found himself unable to. He felt like an idiot for not saying things he should've said earlier.

"Just stay awake for me, okay?" He asked. He didn't know what Pickles saw. As far as he was aware, he was probably going to be killed by the masked assassin had he not saved him. Klokateers would get him in a few minutes but he had to do some of the work on his own. He had to use his jacket to help stop the blood as much as he could. There was already so much blood pouring out that it felt almost pointless but he didn't give up yet. He wouldn't give up on him. 

Pickles could tell he wouldn't. That's what made things hurt more than the wound itself. He reached up a shaky hand to try and hold onto him. It was the only thing he could really do as a sign of last-minute affection.

Charles took his hand. His hand was stained with his blood, still warm, and would probably still be warm for a while. He gave him a reassuring smile as he tried to pull himself together. It was only the two of them at the moment and it felt like keeping defenses up especially at a moment like this was out of the question, "It's gonna be okay, I promise."

It's not gonna be. His mind couldn't help but think about what he saw and he realized there was a calling to him that he hadn't felt in almost years. He had to die. He didn't tell Charles that and only gripped his hand tighter.

There didn't need to be other words exchanged between. All it took was squeezing their hands and looking into each other's eyes to realize what the other had wanted. Charles kissed him just as the other boys began to show up. It was certainly...something they didn't expect and maybe they would've commented if there wasn't blood around them and the fact Pickles was on the floor who seemed like he was near the verge of death.

He pulled away just as klokateers approached him with a gurney, "We'll take him to the medical wing. It hasn't been affected by the fires."

"Good. I'll be there when I can," He answered with his voice as monotone as it always was with them. He had to let go of Pickles' hand and he surprisingly didn't grip onto him tighter. Their hands lingered for just a few moments more before he gently pulled away from him.

He stood up to look at the boys who were nothing but silent over what was going on, "I'll explain what's going on later. For now, we should head to somewhere safe in the meantime."

* * *

Pickles had to make a decision. He knew he would not go through with it if he gave it more thought.

A klokateer was tending to his wounds and had done a remarkable job in keeping him stable. He would live. But that's not what he needed.

"Kill me," He whispered to the klokateer attending him.

"What?" He asked. There was no way to judge his expression other than his voice which definitely didn't hide his surprise.

"Kill me. Let everyone think I'm dead. Someone will contact you from a Church of something. Let them take me. And don't tell anyone."

He didn't know if the klokateer would listen to him. Charles' word did definitely feel like it was much higher than Dethklok's due to being more interactive with them but at the end of the day, it was Dethklok first.

"Are you sure?" He asked, uncertain.

"I am. Do it now."

There were no other words exchanged. He felt the klokateer insert a syringe in his neck, letting some sort of liquid release into his body.

For a few moments, he felt nothing. Until eventually, he felt a weight on his body and the feeling that his body was slowly letting go. Even though he knew he would come back, it was still scary to go through death. He closed his eyes and let his body slowly give up on him until eventually he never thought anymore.

* * *

"This wasn't supposed to happen."

"Well, I am aware of that but how did this even happen?"

"I...I'm not sure. This has never happened before."

"What can we do?"

"I suppose the only thing we can do is hope She gives us some answers tonight. For now, we need to revive him."

**Author's Note:**

> I was gonna add more but I am a little strapped for time and well, leaving that way felt fitting! I am debating on whether or not to add a side ship to this and honestly? The only one I can really see happening also is Nategaar (Skwistok probably would make more sense on the ideas I have but eh-) If anyone does have suggestions though for ships, I'd love to hear it! (I might bring Magnus too, we'll see, so you're free to add him in for ideas-)


End file.
